Seeking Other Moms with Information on Adhd.

Hello M.,

My girls do not have adhd,but, I have found some websites with some therapies they may be of help to you and your 3 year old.

Have you taken your 3 year old to a nutrionist yet? She may need to change her eating habits or diet as it may be.

Hope these help you and your 3 year old.

M.

http://www.myadhd.com/february2004.html

http://www.theadhdspecialist.com/Adhd_Natural.html

http://www.ritalindeath.com/states/california.htm

http://vitaminlady.com/Articles/ADHD.asp

http://www.pe.com/lifestyles/healthandfitness/stories/PE_...

http://www.healing-arts.org/children/ADHD/nutritional.htm

http://parentcenter.babycenter.com/refcap/bigkid/gspecial...

http://add.about.com/od/therapies1/Treatments_and_Therapi...

http://www.mental-health-matters.com/articles/article.php...

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/adhd.html

I am surprised they would diagnose a 3 year old with ADHD. Usually they have to be around 5 or 6 before they will make a definite diagnosis (before that, "hyper" behaviors can just be kids being kids). Also, one requirement to diagnose ADHD is that the behavior has to be affecting the child in more than one area (i.e. they have problems at home, at school, in group activities, etc.). If they have issues at home, but can behave at school or vise versa it's probably not ADHD.

I'm all for giving appropriate medication to kids with ADHD (my oldest son has been on meds for his since Kindergarten and we are about to have my younger son evaluated on Monday) but I'd check with another pediatrician and/or phychchiatrist before putting a 3 year old on meds.

Hi M.,

Well I have custody of my nephew that is 7 and he was diagnosed with severed ADHD and Oppositional Defiant Disorder, however we are now taking him to a psychatrist instead of a psychologist we had him on Ritalin and it made him depressed so we switched to Focaliin and helped somewhat, his therapist thinks he might be bipolar for which I am Bipolar II and his mother is Bipolar I. I am suprised they could diagnose a 3 yr olds that is really to young to tell. It is hard enough with a 7 yr old. I think that is really young to put a child on medication but that is my opinion. Why do they think she has it?

My daughter (now 10) is adhd and we began medicating her at 7. We recently removed flour and sugar from her diet (yes it was a struggle to "detox"), but her attention, and concentration are greatly improved, her teacher haven't noticed that she no longers takes her medication. She also has many LD - but without sugar and flour - she's able to make good progress - less fidgeting, etc.
Maybe you can try it before medicating - up to you
Whole foods has "Alvardo Street" bread and bagels that contain NO flour, and if sugar is listed as the 5th or greater ingredient, then we say OK

M.,
Please, please do not start medicating your child. In reality only about 1% of all children have adhd or add. It is grossly over diagnosed and children are needlessly put on meds. If your husband is gone a great deal....your child MAY be acting out for that or another reason. There are other alternatives to meds...please try them first. Meds can be damaging to a child's long term health.
M. B

M.,

My husband is in the military as well. I know what you are going through. My stepson is ADHD. He is on meds and they do help. But what also helps is that I watch his sugar and Carb intake. If he wants something sweet i give him surgar free candy or surger free ice cream. He does not get soda due to the surgar and carbs.

I would suggest you do a lot of research before you start any medications: some work well for some people and some have some pretty awful side effects. Three years old seems pretty young to be starting medications this strong.

I have found that behavior modification and relying on scheduling and consistency day - to - day work better than medication. Since your daughter is so young, you can start to work now at home and later with her teachers on following a schedule, organizing work / study / play areas to be conducive to the task at hand, and ways to keep your daughter on task, whether by using shortcuts and placemarks, white noise, or schedule breaks.

Another thing that really makes a difference is consistent exercise, sufficient sleep at night and during naps, and a healthy diet with lots of fresh fruits and veggies. Sometimes you can make a huge difference just by living a healthy lifestyle with consistent scheduling and interactive activities with you or other caretakers (keep them busy and don't make a lot of changes day - to - day).

ADHD also goes along with other learning disabilities, so you may want to research additional testing, so that you have an idea of what to look for as well as how your daughter learns best and how you can modify her teachers' methods to be best for her. ADHD also runs in families--see if any of your relatives have symptoms and how they deal with it.

Hi M.

I have a 4 year old with ADHD. My son was diagnosed at first as developmentaly delayed. Then last year they finally diagnosed him on paper as ADHD. Regional center can help you find therapists that will help. My son have been receiving behavior therapy for the past 7 months and I have seen a trmendous improvement. As far as meds in my opinion yes sometime they are needed but try and go the natural way first. Not to scare you but meds have heavy side effects. It can't hurt to try the natural way first and a good diet also. I have a lot of references and a good support group if you are interested. Just e mail me anytime.

Hi I have a child with ADHD and have ADHD myself. I also run a business teaching social skills classes to children with ADHD.

The medication can help calm down your daughter, but teaching your daughter self control and educating her is going to be the most effective. Remember modeling the behavior you want is also key to how she will act. If you need more help or resources please feel free to contact me.

Hello M.
I am a mom of 3 girls. However i have two with ADHD. What Meds do they want to put her on? Anyhow.... How many times does she get up during a TV show? My oldest daughter who has ADHD is 14. i was told when she was 4 she had it. Ask me anything and i will answer or find the answer for you or help you find the Answer.

J. D.

M.:

I took my son to a clinic at UCSF called the HALP clinic. A panel of five doctors with different PHD's evaluated my son and gave a thorough diagnose. You will be amazed of the information you will receive. I would highly recommend an evaluation such as that before medicating your child.

If I can help in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me.

I am no expert but have taken my son to 3 different dr. who all said they would never diagnos this before school age. Maybe you might want a second opinion because our society is quick to pop pills in our kids these days and Ritalin is such a powerful medication. (Hope I dont sound like i am preaching and im not against medicine.)
In the research I found they ask "does the child have the ability to concentrate," like a movie or game. If she can concentrate or focus on things she may just be a high energy child. My best advice is do your homework then decide what works best for your family.
Best of luck!

Hello, Both my boys have been seeing a neurologist for ADD. My little one started first at the age of four. But he said that he was to young to start medication unless it was absolute necessary, but he doesn't feel it was. My six year old just started taking Aderal. It was a struggle for my husband and I to decide whether or not to give it to him, but after two weeks I think we made the right decision. I know how hard it is having two boys with ADD. I am so drained by the end of the day and my little takes so much more attention. When you're out in public I can't take my eyes off him, he's not afraid of anything. But I don't feel like it's necessary to give him any medication at this time.

What test did they give your daughter? I've done a lot of research trying to understand it all. Look into any programs for your daughter. I have my son into a program through the school district called child find. He goes to school four days a weeks for two and a half hours He gets speech therapy and we're looking into phsical therapy to help with his fine motor skills. Plus his teachers have been for supportive and helpful. Feel free to contact me with question, or if you just need to vent. I know how hard this all is. Good luck.

C.

you know in my experience doctors love to perscribe medication for ADHD, this is the "it" diagnosis at this time. I work with foster children, I am a social worker and I am working towards my licensure in marriage and family therapy so I do have some experience with this and battle this diagnosis at this time with my foster children. children are children and they are energetic and hyperactive and they dont' have a huge attention span. that is a typical 3 year old. my son who is also 3 is reported to not always sit during circle time at preschool, or interested in sitting and doing arts and crafts he'd rather be playing with the other toys. and this, to me, is alright. sometimes he sits for a board game and sometimes he thinks he wants to play and will sit for all of 3 minutes and starts getting antsy and moving around. we just end the game. my son, I would say is very energetic, always moving, but at this time, I would not diagnose him as ADHD. I would diagnose him as a typical happy and energetic 3 year old. but not all children are the same. and you are her mom, and really when it comes down to it, you have to decide whether you want to put your child on medication at this time or not. I hope that I've helped and not made things more confusing. but I also do feel very strongly about this diagnosis being handed out like candy, especially to such young children.

Hello M., I am sure there are plenty of moms out there with the actual experience in their home, but my cousin has a foster child who is diag'd with it and she didn't want to put her on the medication, because at the time she felt it was too heavy a drug for a small child. We looked on the Internet and found Focus and found some good and bad comments. She decided to try it and didnt get any results. Further the case worker was very upset with her decision. He asked her if she was a doctor and asked what made her think she knew what was best for her. Now she is on the meds (not sure which one) and she does a lot better. However, every child is different and perhaps some children will do okay with a natural med as opposed to perscriptions. There are natural/wholistic doctors out there who may be able to assist if you choose not to go with perscriptions.

I know it is very hard, but don't do it. Meds are so bad for kids not to mention adults. The long term effects are so harmful for our children. Have you tried changing the diet, I have just started not giving my son red dye # 40.

Having children with ADD is the most challenging, frustrating and heartbreaking course of my life. I wish I could give you better advice than this. My son has been on and off ADD meds since he was in 2nd grade. At first I was excited when the meds began working and we had a significant decrease in notes home from the teacher. He was testing better also. Unfortunately the meds stunted his growth. He was not able to eat, had insomnia, developed tics, and was frequently moody and close to tears. I have just recently decided that I was stopping the meds. Now the teachers are on my back again. My son can't concentrate. He is still close to tears a lot and he failed his math test which he usually soars through when he was on meds. I am torn between keeping his body healthy or his mind. I have found an alternative to drugs at THE DRAKE INSTITUTE and I believe they can help the mind without as many (if any) side effects. However, it is completely impossible for me to afford. If I had the money though I would be there in a second. Check out the website drakeinstitute.com. Heartfelt wishes to your family.

I have an 8 year old with ADHD. I fell that medication can help in someways depending on the exstent of the ADHD. You can find all kinds of information on this subject on Web MD and all over the internet. Everyone has a differnt opinion when it comes to mediction for a child. At first it didnt show me your last comment. My son was diagnosed at 4 years old. I was alittle shock due to age, I'm having the same problem with my 3 year old and having him look at for some issues. For me thought my 8 year old has no problem now. He is a straight A student no problems with school, can totally consintrate on anything. He is not on any meds and hasnt been for almost 2 years. At 4 he was crazy they told me he was text book ADHD and he was for along time but then I guess we just got lucky.I dont know where you live if you would like to email me I can let you know of a very good center if you have not already tried them. There are in Fresno Ca. I fell they are the best. Valley Childrens has a great Nero the is just great.My 8 year old turned out to be Bipolar but we didnt know that and I found out so much about ADHD its crazy. I still keep up on it because its helpful sometimes.Good luck C.

Hi M.
I would not allow a doctor to diagnose a three year with ADHD. You really need to wait until she is at least 5 years of age and in some kind of school. I have a 12 year with ADHD. We knew he was ADHD by the time he was four and in pre-school. We held off putting him on meds as long as possible because we wanted to make medication the last option. It was a very difficult ride and if we had to do it all over again, we would have put him on medication from the start.

My daughters pediatrician thought she was also ADHD and wanted to medicate her at an early age. My son’s therapist advised us to wait until she was in school so we did. When I put her in school at the age of five we found out she has a small learning disability, not ADHD. She is now nine and doing great in school with no signs of ADHD or her learning disability. It is so important that you have your child in school before any medication decisions are made. You don’t want to medicate a child for the wrong thing.

Not all medication works for all kids and sometimes it takes a combination of medications to see results. Finding the right medication and the right dose takes time. It took two years before we found the right combination of medications and the right time of day in which they were to be given. It’s not as simple as popping a pill in their mouth.

I would also highly recommend your child see a therapist along with a psychiatrist. The therapist will help your child learn to control her urges which will help aid the medication. The goal should be to have the child off all medication by the time she is an adult. If she doesn’t learn how to control herself she won’t be able to be medication free.

I know what you are going through. Hang in there. There is light at the end of the tunnel. I promise.

Before you try medication, please have her try acupuncture (it doesn't hurt)and read the book, "the Indigo Children" by Lee Carroll and Jan Tober. It's worth a shot.

Hope it helps.
Y.